Monday, September 26, 2011

An Ethic of Excellence

Ethic of Excellence: Here we have another one of those fancy terms. If you asked anyone what an ethic of excellence meant to them, most would respond with "...What?" However, in the context of teaching, an ethic of excellence can be very simple. Another word for ethic is belief. I take an ethic of excellence to mean what beliefs and practices I implement into my classroom to promote and sustain an excellent school environment. The most important belief I have regarding my classroom is that the students have to want to be there and want to learn. If a student has no motivation at all to learn and succeed, it is pointless for them to even be in school. However, it is my job to ensure that the students want to be there and want to learn. If a student doesn't want to learn, there is something that I can do better to make them want to do their best. I would like my students to realize that it's okay to make mistakes and do poorly sometimes; the important thing is that once mistakes are made, they are corrected and understood. Once you do poorly on something, this does not mean that it is set in stone. There is always room for improvement and understanding. I want my students to understand that my classroom is a fun and positive working environment where they can enjoy learning and be successful. A classroom environment is only truly excellent if the students perceive it as so. After all, teachers are only in school for the student's benefit. A lot of teachers I have had in the past have forgotten this. We would do well to remember this fact in the future.